Little Speck in Garnered Fruit (Henry)
Short summary
In a modest city apartment during early springtime, newlywed wife The Bride sat dreamily, filled with honeymoon bliss and whimsical desires. She casually expressed a craving for a peach, confident that her devoted husband Kid McGarry could effortlessly fulfill her whim.
Eager to please his wife, Kid McGarry willingly set out late at night, searching city streets and questioning various fruit vendors. Despite everyone's insistence that peaches were unavailable until summer, Kid persisted. Refusing repeated offers of oranges instead, he eventually leveraged information about an illegal gambling den. He led a police raid against the establishment, fought its owner, Denver Dick, and ultimately discovered a single remaining peach within the company's extravagant feast.
After sustaining injuries in the struggle, he swiftly returned home. Proudly presenting the hard-won fruit, Kid received an affectionate but surprising response from his bride.
And now he stood by her chair and laid the peach in her hand. "Naughty boy!" she said, fondly. "Did I say a peach? I think I would much rather have had an orange." Blest be the bride.
Detailed Summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The honeymoon and the bride's request
Kid McGarry and his bride were in the midst of their honeymoon, enjoying their new life together in a flat with red carpets and decorative steins. The couple was still wrapped in the wonder of their recent marriage.
The honeymoon was at its full. There was a flat with the reddest of new carpets, tasselled portieres and six steins with pewter lids arranged on a ledge above the wainscoting of the dining-room. The wonder of it was yet upon them.
The bride sat in her rocker, wrapped in rosy dreams and a kimono of the same hue. She contemplated her marriage to Kid McGarry, a champion welterweight boxer whom no fighter could stand against for even four rounds. She had been married to him for three weeks and knew that the slightest movement of her little finger had more influence over him than any opponent's fist.
Looking thoughtfully at the ceiling, the bride suddenly expressed a desire. "Precious," she said with an imperious air, "I think I would like a peach." Despite the fact that it was early spring and peaches were out of season, Kid McGarry immediately put on his coat and hat, ready to fulfill her wish.
The Kid begins his search for a peach
After a series of elaborate farewells, Kid McGarry went down to the street to find a peach for his bride. He hesitated, knowing that peaches were not in season during early spring, but was determined to fulfill his wife's request.
His first stop was at an Italian fruit vendor's stand on the corner. The Kid cast a contemptuous look at the display of oranges, polished apples, and pale bananas before asking about peaches.
The vendor regretfully informed him that peaches wouldn't be available for another month and suggested oranges instead. Scornful of this alternative, the Kid continued his quest.
Next, he entered the all-night establishment of his friend Justus O'Callahan. The Kid explained his predicament, stating that his wife wanted a peach and nothing else would do.
O'Callahan sympathized but had no peaches to offer. He suggested that even the Broadway establishments might not have any this early in the season and offered oranges instead. The Kid declined and continued his search.
As midnight approached, the Kid walked down a West-Side avenue. Few stores remained open, and those that were dismissed the idea of finding peaches. Just as a fruiterer was locking his door, the Kid caught him and inquired about peaches.
The police station and raid on Denver Dick's
After the fruiterer suggested that expensive hotels might have some early peaches, the Kid set out toward a police station marked by green lights down a dark side street. He asked the desk sergeant for the captain, who soon appeared in plain clothes.
The captain greeted the Kid, surprised to see him since he thought the boxer was still on his honeymoon. The Kid explained that he had returned and was now taking an interest in municipal affairs. He offered to help the captain raid Denver Dick's illegal gambling establishment, which had relocated to the captain's precinct.
The captain was surprised to hear that Denver Dick was operating in his precinct and agreed to raid the place. The Kid explained that they would need hammers since the doors weren't yet reinforced with steel. He couldn't enter himself because Denver Dick suspected him of tipping off the police for a previous raid.
Within ten minutes, the captain and a dozen officers followed the Kid to a seemingly respectable building. The Kid directed them to a third-floor rear door, which the axemen broke down. Inside was a lavishly furnished gambling room with various games in progress.
About fifty patrons rushed toward the door in an attempt to escape. Denver Dick himself was present and, recognizing the Kid, attacked him personally. They tumbled down a flight of stairs together before separating.
Once they were on their feet, the Kid was able to use his boxing skills to defeat the larger man. After subduing Denver Dick, the Kid hurried back upstairs and through the gambling room into a smaller connecting room.
This room contained a table set with expensive food and drink, reflecting Denver Dick's extravagant taste. The Kid spotted a shoe protruding from under the tablecloth and pulled out a black man in server's attire.
Finding the peach and the journey home
The Kid demanded to know if there were any peaches in the establishment. The server explained that there had been three dozen peaches earlier in the evening, but the gamblers had eaten almost all of them. After searching, he found one last peach that had escaped consumption.
Triumphant with his prize, the Kid immediately departed for home, barely glancing at the scene below where officers were loading prisoners into patrol wagons. His heart was light as he walked, like a knight returning to Camelot after completing a quest for his lady.
His heart was light as he went. So rode the knights back to Camelot after perils and high deeds done for their ladies fair. The Kid's lady had commanded him and he had obeyed. True, it was but a peach that she had craved...
On his way home, the Kid stopped at an all-night drugstore to have his ribs examined after his tumble down the stairs with Denver Dick. The druggist assured him nothing was broken, though he had a significant bruise. The Kid borrowed a clothesbrush to tidy himself before returning home.
The bride's reaction and ironic ending
Meanwhile, the bride waited in their apartment, bathed in the pink glow of the lamp shade. She felt a sense of power, knowing that by merely expressing a desire for something as simple as a peach, she could send her husband out into the night to do her bidding, and he would return successful.
The miracles were not all passed away. By breathing a desire for some slight thing - a flower, a pomegranate, a - oh, yes, a peach - she could send forth her man into the night, into the world which could not withstand him, and he would do her bidding.
When the Kid returned and proudly presented the peach to his bride, she took it in her hand and delivered the story's ironic twist. "Naughty boy!" she said fondly. "Did I say a peach? I think I would much rather have had an orange."